Introducing Sophie
The brutalist exterior of the Jewish Museum in Berlin featured small holes of light and abstract windows. It wasn’t exactly inviting. The gray May weather didn’t help either. My friends and I met up in Berlin for a week and had spent our days exploring, going out, and immersing ourselves in the Berlin scene. But not that day. That day was a sad day.
Before my trip to Germany, my relationship with Judaism and the Holocaust was restricted to Hebrew School and New York City, where I had fond memories of eating at Jewish delicatessens with my grandparents and celebrating Purim. At the museum, I felt my body commanded by the slanted floors, which some said outlined a broken Star of David. I stared at empty walls, erected to remind visitors how much was lost during the Holocaust. Finally, I allowed myself to cry in the Holocaust tower, or the “Voided Void,” which is an isolated, three-story tall concrete building without windows and hardly any noise. The darkness swallowed me and I felt a hollow, nothingness inside.
After my trip, and that day in particular, I knew there was more for me to explore in Germany. I enjoyed every second of my time there, fascinated by their train system and their commitment to parks and green space. Moreover, I was given a space to think about and process the Holocaust, even in a space haunted by, and shaped by, the ghost of World War II. I wanted to apply to this class to understand more about the country, its current politics, and why it is so enticing. Furthermore, I have craved a Political Economy class throughout my time as an Economics major. The intersection of both topics was my introduction to Economics in high school, and I often found myself craving more interdisciplinary understandings of economic concepts, economic inequality, and financial policy.
My name is Sophie and I’m a senior Economics major and Politics minor and I applied to this class to learn about Germany in an economic context and to learn experientially in an international context. Outside of my economic and political interests, I have always gravitated toward storytelling. At Oxy, I have worked at The Occidental as the Culture Editor and also wrote an original full-length play for the New Works Festival. I’m originally from Brooklyn and I also work at Bike Share, Occidental’s sustainable bike sharing initiative which provides students with sustainable transportation alternatives in Los Angeles.
Looking at the syllabus, I am most intrigued by Module 3 which explores Social Sustainability and specifically, the East-West German Inequalities, largely shaped by the former separation of the two areas of Germany. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the two areas have wildly different economic statuses with East Germany having higher unemployment rates and less disposable income than West German residents. When I was in Germany, I met a Berlin resident originally from Budapest on the train who explained to me that East Germany is home to more conservative and far-right groups due in part to the Soviet occupation which was extremely anti-socialist. I am curious to learn more about the nuanced political space which Germany occupies.
When we are in Germany, I am greatly looking forward to our visit to The Black Forest. Having grown up and attended college in major metropolitan areas, I am thrilled whenever I have the opportunity to visit natural areas and park. From a quick Google and some Tik Tok research, I have seen how beautiful the forest is online and I am excited to see it in-person. I am also curious to see how Freiburg, as the center for solar energy, exists in tandem with the Black Forest. Ultimately, it looks like an amazing, green, and beautiful place.
One question I keep coming back to is what are the factors that made the energy transition in Germany one that is feasible and financially achievable? Germany has been very committed to their “Energiewende” and I am also wondering what policies and strategies — both regarding politicians and energy stakeholders — can be used in other settings.
